Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1994. — 100 p. Unquestionably the best American fighter of World War 2, the North American P-51 Mustang served in large numbers with the USAAF's Eighth Air Force from late 1943 until VE Day, and was the mount of most aces in-theatre. Charged with the responsibility of escorting huge formations of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1994. — 100 p. Totally outnumbered throughout their short two-year sojourn in the Western Desert, the crack fighter pilots of the handful of Jagdgeschwader in-theatre fought an effective campaign in support of Rommel's Afrika Korps against the British and American forces. Relying almost exclusively on the Luftwaffe's staple fighter of...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1995. — 100 p. Arguably the most important piston-engined single-seat fighter design ever to see service with the US Navy and Marine Corps, the aesthetically inelegant F4F Wildcat achieved much acclaim during its bloody frontline career. Thrown into combat at Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal, the handful of Wildcat units of the Navy...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1995. — 100 p. The first virtually all-jet war, the conflict in Korea saw F-86 Sabres of the USAF take on MiG-15s of the North Korean and Chinese air forces. Although the Allied pilots were initially taken aback by the ability of the communist fighter in combat, sound training and skilful leadership soon enabled Sabre pilots to...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1995. — 100 p. Although the Spitfire is undoubtedly best known for its exploits against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, its later war service with Fighter Command on all fronts against the Axis alliance was equally as important. This volume features the exploits of pilots who turned the tide against the Luftwaffe on the...
Illustrator: Mike Chappell. — Osprey Publishing, 1995. — 100 p. Of all the fronts fought on by the Jagdflieger during World War 2, the Russian, or Eastern, was easily the most lucrative in terms of targets for the experten. Marry an abundance of targets with the Luftwaffe's best piston-engined fighter of the war - Focke-Wulf's Fw 190 'Butcher Bird' - and it quickly becomes...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1995. — 100 p. Although best remembered for its exploits with Eighth Air Force units, the Mustang, in its various marks, actually made its combat debut firstly with the RAF in the Army co-operation role, and then with the USAAF's tactically-optimised Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces. Seeing action in Western Europe and the...
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 1995. — 100 p. The speed with which the Corsair was rushed into service as a land-based fighter obliged the pilots to learn on the job. The aircraft soon proved to be superior to the Japanese Zero and played a major part in the destruction of Japan's elite air forces in the South Pacific. Later, in an effort to counter the Kamikaze...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1996. — 100 p. The Fw 190 was the scourge of Fighter Command from the moment it appeared on the Western Front at Abbeville in August 1941 with II./JG 26. A nimble, speedy and well-armed adversary, the 'Butcher Bird' quickly proved superior to all Allied fighters of the time, particularly at medium to low altitude. Led by Experten of the...
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 1996. — 96 p. Grumman's successor to the pugnacious Wildcat, the Hellcat embodied many of the lessons learnt by F4F pilots in the opening months of the Pacific war. Introduced to the fleet in January 1943, and blooded in combat against the Japanese by VF-5 seven months later, the F6F served as the principal US Navy fighter on board...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1996. — 100 p. The period covered in this volume was considered to be the 'glory years' for the Jagdwaffe fresh from the experience gained in the Spanish Civil War and for the Bf 109 in particular. Many famous pilots scored their first kills in the classic dogfights staged over Poland, Western Europe, the Channel and finally southern...
Illustrator: Keith Fretwell. — Osprey Publishing, 1996. — 100 p. Spitfire Mk Is and IIs served only briefly in the frontline with the RAF, but their pilots were responsible for achieving impressive scores against the Luftwaffe during 1940/41. This volume details the RAF's first aces of World War 2 who helped stem the German tide during Britain's struggle for survival in the bitter...
Illustrator: Grant Race. — Osprey Publishing, 1997. — 100 p. Little has been published in English on the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF), let alone its most successful fighter pilots no less than 150 of them achieved ace status during eight years of near-constant war, and they are all listed in this volume. From the arid plains of the Mongolian border region to the lush jungles of...
Illustrator: Tom Tullis. — Osprey Publishing, 1997. — 100 p. The P-38 was used on virtually every front to which the USAAF were committed, but enjoyed its greatest successes in the Pacific and China-Burma-India (CBI) theatres. The speed, range and firepower of the P-38 made it the favourite of nearly all aircrew fighting in the Solomons, New Guinea and the Philippines, and over...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1997. — 100 p. No single volume in English has ever appeared in the West dealing with this intriguing subject area, but now that restrictions have relaxed in the former Soviet Union, records of the deeds of the elite pilots of the various Soviet Air Forces are coming to light. Although initially equipped with very poor aircraft, and...
Illustrator: Keith Fretwell. — Osprey Publishing, 1997. — 100 p. As the first Spitfire variant to see extensive service outside of Britain, the Mk V fought the Axis alliance over the deserts of North Africa, the waters of the Mediterranean and the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean off the northern coast of Australia. Initially produced in haste to combat the arrival of new German...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 100 p. The Third Reich's last ditch efforts to sweep the massed Allied bomber formations from the skies of Germany centred around the new crop of jet 'wonder weapons' that were issued to the Jagdwaffe from mid-1944 onwards. Far in advance of anything the Allies had even in the experimental phase, types like the Me 262, He 162,...
Illustrator: Keith Fretwell. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 132 p. The Hawker Hurricane was the RAF's first monoplane fighter, and it dragged the air force into a position where it could defend Britain in its 'hour of need'. Prior to the Battle of Britain, a number of squadrons equipped with the fighter had seen action firstly in the 'Phoney War', and then during the disastrous...
Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 92 p. — ISBN: 1855326981. The P-38 made its combat debut in Europe in mid-1942, the first American fighters being flown to the UK before heading further east to Twelfth Air Force units in North Africa. Its service in this theatre, and later over the heartland of Germany itself, earned the P-38 the nickname 'der gabelschwanzer Teufel' (the...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 100 p. When the Luftwaffe entered World War 2, its nightfighter force was virtually nonexistent thanks to its leader, Reichmarschall Hermann Göring, who boasted that bombs would never fall on Germany. By mid-1940 his folly was evident; the first night fighter wing was hastily formed with Bf 110s. Initially capable of detecting...
Illustrator: Robert Gretzyngier. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 100 p. Pilots of the Polish Air Force saw action from the first day of World War 2 until the final victory in Europe. Flying hopelessly outmoded P.11 fighters in defence of their country in September 1939, a handful of aviators inflicted serious losses on the Luftwaffe before being overwhelmed. The survivors escaped to...
Illustrator: Tom Tullis. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 116 p. The outcome of the Pacific War was heavily influenced by the results of naval battles between the Imperial Japanese fleet and the US Navy. One of the key elements was Japan's large fighter component, which had gained experience over Manchuria, China and Mongolia in the late 1930s. Flying A5Ms, at least 21 pilots achieved...
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 100 p. Always outnumbered by their Soviet counterparts, the small band of Finnish fighter pilots who defended their Scandinavian homeland from the 'communist hordes' in three separate wars between 1939 and 1945 amassed scores only bettered by the Luftwaffe's Jagdflieger. Initially equipped with a motley collection of biplane...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1998. — 100 p. The US aviation industry produced three great fighter designs to equip its burgeoning army air force during World War 2, and of this trio, Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt was easily the heaviest. Powered, crucially, by a turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine that produced 2000 hp, the first...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1999. — 106 p. This volume is the first of its type to be devoted exclusively to the Zerstörer day fighter aces, spanning the war years from Poland to the defence of the Reich. Although Messerschmitt's single-engined Bf 109 has received most of the plaudits for achieving virtual air superiority over Europe in 1939-40, the exploits of...
Illustrator: Tom Tullis. — Osprey Publishing, 1999. — 100 p. Although far better known for their exploits over the war torn skies of Germany and Italy, the USAAF's premier fighters, the P-47 and P-51, also made significant contributions to the victory against Japan from 1943 onwards. This book relates the appearance of the Allison-engined A-36As and P-51As over Rangoon from India...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1999. — 96 p. Hawker Typhoon and Tempest two aircraft types with widely differing reputations. The former was a technical nightmare redeemed as a ground attack machine, whilst the latter proved to be the most superlative low and medium level fighter to see service with the RAF, and arguably any air force, during the latter stages of...
Osprey Publishing, 1999. — 96 p. — ISBN: 1855328984. French pilots endured fighting both with and against the Allies during World War 2. Possessing obsolescent aircraft at the outbreak of the war, the Armée de l'Air was decimated in the wake of the Blitzkrieg; however, a number of fighter units still achieved creditable scores flying Curtiss Hawks, Morane MS.406s and Dewoitine...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 1999. — 100 p. The follow--on volume to Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 11 Bf 109D/E Aces 1939-41, this book charts the story of the myriad aces who flew the later marks of Messerschmitt fighter through to VE-Day. As good as the Emil had been during the opening 18 months of the war, the aircraft was being progressively bettered in virtually...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 1999. — 100 p. This book charts the story of the lesser known aces who flew the mighty Republic aircraft as a tactical fighter-bomber with the Ninth Air Force, rather than as a long-range escort. It also details the exploits of the Mediterranean-based 325th FG, which was the only P-47 group within the strategic Fifteenth Air Force....
Illustrator: Tom Tullis. — Osprey Publishing, 2000 . — 144 p. This volume focuses on the little known official Army Air Force report commissioned by the Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command (FC) in May 1944. The detailed document chronicled the experiences of 24 pilots who had seen extensive service in the frontline escorting B-17s and B-24s on daylight raids deep into Germany....
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2000 . — 100 p. The Albatros family of fighters were amongst the most effective aircraft employed by the Idlfieg (Imperial German Air Service) for much of World War 1, with the D.III and D.Va being flown by most of the 363 pilots who qualified as aces at some point in their often brief careers. The Albatros was the scourge of the...
Osprey Publishing, 2000. — 98 p. — ISBN: 1855329611. The French Nieuport company provided the Allied air forces with the first true fighter scout of World War 1 in the shape of the diminutive XI of 1915. Based on the Bebe racer, built for the abandoned Gordon-Bennett Trophy of the previous year, the aircraft utilised a sesquiplane (lower wing much smaller than the upper wing)...
Illustrator: Richard Caruana. — Osprey Publishing, 2000 . — 96 p. Flying aircraft such as the Macchi 200-202, Fiat G.50 and biplane Fiat CR.42, the Italian fighter pilots were recognised by their Allied counterparts as brave opponents blessed with sound flying abilities, but employing under-gunned and underpowered equipment. Following the Italian surrender in September 1943, a...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2000 . — 96 p. This book details the colourful experiences of the elite pilots of the AAF's Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces in the 'forgotten' China-Burma-India theatre during WW2. Inheriting the legacy of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), units such as the 23rd FG 'held the line' against overwhelming Japanese forces until the...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2001 . — 96 p. The first American fighter fitted with a tricyle undercarriage and mid-mounted engine, the P-39 proved less than successful in the hands of its launch customer, the US Army Air Force (AAF). Hampered by unreliabilty and poor engine performance at high altitude, the P-39 nevertheless served alongside the P-40 and P-38 in...
Illustrator: Iain Wyllie. — Osprey Publishing, 2001. — 96 p. The highest scoring aces of any aerial conflict were the Luftwaffe pilots involved in the bloody combats on the Russian Front. The most common fighter used by these pilots was the Bf 109, which was involved in the action from Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, through to the doomed Defence of the Reich in 1945. Units...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2002 . — 112 p. Deemed unsuitable for the Channel Front, lend-lease Tomahawks and Kittyhawks instead became the staple fighters of the Desert Air Force in 1941-42, flying with RAF, South African and Australian squadrons in North Africa and the Middle East. Although usually outclassed by the Bf 109, a number of pilots enjoyed some...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2001 . — 96 p. Built by the 'Société Anonyme Pour l'Aviation et ses Dérivés', (SPAD), the SPAD VII was the first successful fighting scout design to emerge from the company that had traded as Duperdussin pre-war. Flown ‘from the off' by aces Paul Sauvage and Georges Guynemer, the scouts made an immediate impression. Indeed, the...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2001 . — 96 p. Undoubtedly the most famous fighter type to see service on either side during World War 1, the Fokker Dr I was a revelation when it entered service on the western front in 1917. Manfred von Richthofen's JG 1 ‘circus' was the first Jasta to completely re-equip with the new fighter, and in the skilled hands of its...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2001 . — 96 p. The American Volunteer Group, or 'Flying Tigers', have remained the most famous outfit to see action in World War II. Manned by volunteers flying American aircraft acquired from the British, the AVG fought bravely in the face of overwhelming odds in China and Burma prior to the US entry into World War II. Pilots such as...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2001 . — 96 p. American fliers arriving in Europe from September 1917 brought with them no aircraft. Instead, US units had to obtain machines mainly from the British and French. From early 1918 American pilots were issued with SPAD fighters and they never looked back. As this volume details, the first American trained pilot to...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 92 p. — ISBN: 1841762881. Thrown into action following the Torch landings of late 1942, the ‘green’ American pilots flying the obsolescent P-40F suffered cruelly at the hands of seasoned German fighter pilots flying superior machines. Those that survived learnt quickly, and a handful of Warhawk pilots succeeded in making ace by the time the Axis...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2002. — 96 p. Never before has a single volume been devoted exclusively to the intrepid and disparate band of pilots who could claim to be Gladiator aces. Flying the ultimate British biplane fighter, pilots in China, Finland, East Africa, North Africa, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, Norway and the Middle East all scored the...
Illustrator: Mark Rolfe. — Osprey Publishing, 2001 . — 96 p. At the outset of World War I the British had some 110 assorted aircraft, used mostly for the visual reconnaissance role. With the advent of faster and more agile single-seaters, the Allies and their adversaries raced to outdo each other in the creation of genuinely effective fighters with fixed forward-firing machine gun...
Illustrator: Mark Rolfe. — Osprey Publishing, 2002. — 96 p. — — ISBN-10 1841763764, ISBN-13 978-1841763767. Starting the war with only 35 aircraft, Austro-Hungarian industry went on to produce only moderate numbers of poor quality aircraft. The fliers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire operating on the Serbian and Russian fronts were fortunate at first, finding themselves faced by...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2002. — 96 p. This book details the exploits of the pilots who flew the hugely successful SPAD XIII and the trickier SPAD XII. Built in response to the combat inadequacies of the SPAD VII, the XIII first entered service with the French Aviation Militaire in late 1917. Despite suffering engine unreliability, the XIII enjoyed great...
Osprey Publishing, 2002. — 98 p. — ISBN: 1841763179. This book focuses on the combat careers of the last of the famous Sopwith fighters to enter service during World War 1, the Dolphin and the Snipe, both of which were built on the strong scouting heritage of the Pup and Camel. The Dolphin featured the unique negative-staggered biplane wing arrangement, which provided the pilot...
Osprey Publishing, 2002. — 98 p. — ISBN 1841764353. Initially flying Italian-supplied Fiat G.50s, the Croat forces suffered heavy losses during 1942 whilst flying alongside JG 52 in the southern sector of the Russian front. Despite this, a significant number of kills fell to future aces such as Cvitan Galic and Mato Dubovak during this time, and when the units re-equipped with...
Illustrator: Stephan Boshniakov. — Osprey Publishing, 2002. — 96 p. Like Germany, Hungary was forbidden from having an air force following the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War 1. However, again like Germany, the new state of Hungary created an air arm in secret during the 1930s. Hungarian fighter pilots first saw action against their Slovakian...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 128 p. 'Like The Long Reach, Down to Earth is a message from the battle at its height, told in their own words by the men who fight' - this is how Brig-Gen Francis Griswold, VIII Fighter Command, ends his introduction to this book. His official endorsement reveals just how important a document Down to Earth was to the teaching...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 96 p. Responsible for destroying 1294 enemy aircraft between June 1917 and November 1918, the Camel was the most successful fighting scout employed by either side in terms of the sheer number of victories that it scored. The Camel was renowned for its sensitivity and need for skill and experience, and casualties amongst...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 96 p. Designed in a great rush at the end of 1917 just in time to take part in the German standard fighter competition held in January/February 1918, the D VII easily walked away with first prize. As Germanys premier fighter unit, von Richthofens JG I (led by Hermann Göring in the wake of the 'Red Baron's' recent death)...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 96 p. First seeing action in the wake of the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, the Royal Rumanian Air Force had been allied to the Luftwaffe since the Romanian government signed a Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy in November 1940. This book reveals how, despite suffering heavy losses to the numerically superior...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 96 p. The first USAAF fighters to engage the Japanese in World War 2, a handful of P-40s rose to defend Pearl Harbor from attack on the morning of 7 December 1941. Warhawk units were also heavily involved in the ill-fated fight to stem invading Japanese forces in the Philippines and Java between December 1941 and April 1942...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 96 p. This book examines the LaGG family of fighters, that were amongst the first modern piston-engined interceptors made available to the Red Air Forces in early 1941and proved far better fighters than their radial-engined predecessors. Despite technical maladies and political interference from Moscow, the LaGG-3 matured into...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2003. — 96 p. The Hurricane saw widespread action with Allied forces, as the RAF's first monoplane fighter. This book describes its many feats throughout 1945. It served as a fighter-bomber on the Channel Front, where the American Eagles and Polish units were amongst the Fighter Command squadrons flying the Hurricane, and where some of...
Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 93 p. — ISBN: 1841766526. In 1939, Slovakia signed a protection agreement with the German Reich and joined the attack on Poland, where its Avia B-534-equipped fighter squadrons claimed their first kills. In October 1942, having made do with obsolete aircraft, the Slovaks were equipped with Bf 109Es and eventually acquired 43 Messerschmitt fighters....
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 96 p. Israeli delta fighters pilots have been credited with almost 300 kills between 1966 and 1974, and dozens of them became aces. The Israeli aerial kill exchange rate and overall air-to-air performance was phenomenal. Although the Israeli pilots were flying Mach 2 fighters, they lacked any modern radar equipment and their...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 96 p. The American manufactured F-4 Phantom II was used by the Israelis in air-to-ground missions, as an attack aircraft, and air-to-air missions as a fighter. Despite performing both roles with equal success the Israeli reliance on the Mirage III and Nesher delta fighters meant that the F-4 was used most regularly in its...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 128 p. This volume details the experiences of 107 elite American aces in combat against the Japanese. The highest scoring US pilots of World War 2 fought against the Japanese Army Air Force and Imperial Japanese Navy over the jungles of New Guinea and the Philippines. Flying P-38s and P-47s, men such as Dick Bong and Thomas...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 96 p. The inspiration behind the iconic Fokker Dr I, Sopwith's Triplane was built as a replacement for the company's hugely successful, and much loved, Pup. Thanks to its massive wing area, the revolutionary Triplane boasted an unmatched rate of climb and greatly improved manoeuvrability. Indeed, when the type made its...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2004. — 96 p. Volume 53 in this series covered Fokker D VII aces from the four elite Jagdgeschwadern of the German army, and this follow-on volume charts the story of the many aces who flew the famed fighter in other units committed to combat in the final months of World War 1. D VII operations covered the entire Western Front, from...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 100 p. — ISBN: 1841768456. The Yak-1 entered Soviet service in 1941, one of three modern types of aircraft accepted for production just prior to the German invasion of the USSR. Despite initial shortcomings, it soon proved to be the thoroughbred of the Soviet Airforce. Indeed, it remained in production until the end of the war, modernized but...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 100 p. — ISBN: 1841768464. Entering service at the end of the Battle of Britain, the pugnacious Bristol Beaufighter was deployed in numbers by Fighter Command just in time for the start of the Luftwaffe’s night ‘Blitz’ on Britain. Flown by specialised nightfighter squadrons – several of them elite pre-war Auxiliary Air Force units – it was the first...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 96 p. Tethered balloons reached their zenith as a means of providing a stationary observation platform above the battlefield during World War I. It took a special breed of daredevil to take on such odds deep in enemy lines in order to destroy a balloon, with Balloon specialists such as Willy Coppens, Pierre Bourjade and...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 96 p. The Sopwith Pup was the forerunner of the hugely successful Sopwith Camel, which duly became the most successful fighter of World War 1. The first proper British fighting scout, the first Pups - the Royal Naval Air Service - arrived on the Western Front in 1916. Although regarded as a ‘nice' aeroplane to fly, pilots...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 96 p. This volume tells the story of the daylight air battles over Germany through the eyes of the Bf 109 aces involved. It traces the development of the aerial defence of the Reich from its small beginnings to arguably the most savage and costliest campaign in the history of aerial warfare. The Luftwaffe pilots explain their...
Osprey Publishing, 2005. — 100 p. — ISBN: 1841768782. The Mosquito developed into one of the most versatile aircraft of World War 2, entering service with Fighter Command in early 1942. The 'Mossie' was soon defending raids on Britain's Cathedral cities and became an integral part of the country's night defences. Its airborne radar gave it the ability to 'see' the enemy at...
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 96 p. The 51st Fighter Wing initially flew the F-80C in the Korean War, but in 1951, the 51st brought in high-scoring World War 2 ace Colonel Francis Gabreski to assume command when it converted from the F-80 over to the newly arrived F-86E. His recruits included his elite 4th Wing pilots, and by the end of the war, the 51st...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 96 p. The Pfalz Flugzeug Werke, located at Speyer am Rhein in Bavaria, was the third in the great triumvirate (along with Fokker and Albatros) of German fighter manufacturers in the Great War. When World War I broke out in 1914, Pfalz initially produced copies of the Morane-Saulnier parasol monoplanes for the German air...
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 96 p. The entry of the United State's premier jet interceptor into the Korean War was triggered by the ever-increasing presence of the Soviet-built MiG-15 south of the Yalu River. The possibility of the USAF losing air supremacy over the Korean Peninsula was unacceptable. The 4th Fighter Wing got the call for combat in Korea....
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 96 p. The Fokker Eindecker (monoplane) started the true age of fighter aviation. With the development of its revolutionary synchronised machine gun system, the Eindecker caused consternation in the ranks of Allied airmen as its pilots began to reap a grim harvest of victims in 1915. The exploits of aces like Max Immelmann...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2006. — 96 p. By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircraft to fly. To help prevent this collapse the UK eventually supplied a total of 4300 Hurricanes and Spitfires to the USSR. After the United States entered the war, the...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 96 p. The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy served with distinction in every theatre of war throughout World War II. From its poorly equipped beginnings - it started the war with few suitable, modern, carrier-born fighters - to the final campaigns over the Japanese home islands, the FAA proved an effective fighting force...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 96 p. The four-year long Eastern Front campaign fought between Germany and the Soviet Union produced not only the greatest number of aces, but also the highest individual and unit scores ever recorded in the history of aerial warfare. An ideal complement to its bestselling predecessor, this fully illustrated volume covers the...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 96 p. From September 1916 until late 1918, biplanes from the Albatros firm formed the primary equipment of Germany's fighter forces. Starting with the D I of 1916, these aircraft underwent a continuous programme of development and production to the D Va of late 1917. Albatros fighters reached their zenith of deadly...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 96 p. The Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5/5a was, along with the Sopwith Camel, the major British fighting scout of the last 18 months of the war in France. It equipped several major squadrons, the first being No 56 Sqn in April 1917. This unit became famous for the number of aces it had among its pilots, including Albert...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 96 p. This is the history of the best Allied fighter-destroyer of World War I and the pilots who flew it. Numerous ace teams earned the 'Biff' grudging respect from its German opponents, as the crews operated the plane not as a standard two-seater, but as a single-seat with a 'sting in the tail' in the form of a rear gunner...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2007. — 96 p. The first few American volunteers in World War 2 flew Spitfires with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Many more joined their ranks, often posing as 'Canadians', eventually forming three Eagle squadrons who earned a fierce fighting reputation. When the United States entered the war its fighter sections were issued...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 96 p. Modified for low-level operations to counter Luftwaffe attacks on the south coast, the Griffon-powered Spitfire XIV became the best low-level fighter of World War II. Squadrons moved to south-eastern England to counter the V1 flying bomb offensive, where daring pilots pioneered the technique of tipping the V1 over with...
Illustrator: Yuriy Tepsurkaev. — Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 96 p. The Soviet Union began assisting the People's Republic of China in its establishment of a modern air force in 1950, when Soviet Air Force regiments were sent to train local pilots. China's involvement in the Korean War in late October 1950 inevitably drew Soviet pilots into the war, with a total of 52 Soviet pilots...
Illustrator: Steve Nichols. — Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 96 p. The siege of Malta during World War II is one of the great epics of aerial warfare. Described in 1942 as both a 'fighter pilot's paradise' and 'the most bombed place on earth', Malta suffered 154 consecutive days and nights of bombing, 100 nights more that London suffered during the Blitz. The destruction of Axis...
Illustrator: Chris Davey, Mark Postlethwaite. — Osprey Publishing, 2008. — 96 p. The Americans lagged behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against night-time attack by bomber aircraft. This book examines the numerous aircraft...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 96 p. Dubbed the 'Oscar' by the Allies, the Ki-43 Hayabusa Peregrine was the most prolific Japanese fighter of World War 2. Designed for manoeuverability and speed, the low-wing model meant that firepower and safety had to be sacrificed, with only two machine guns per plane. Despite this, more Japanese pilots achieved Ace...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 96 p. The Curtiss P-36 was considered a revolution in performance design in comparison to other US fighters. Yet by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the P-40 was increasingly supplanting the P-36, which the US then exported to France under the guise of the Hawk 75. Flown by the French, captured by the Germans,...
Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 100 p. — ISBN: 1846034221. The Japanese Army Air Force's invasion of Burma during 1941-42 was at first a huge success against the RAF who struggled to support the Chindit expedition on the ground. Yet the arrival of the Spitfire was to change the fortunes of the RAF and the outcome of the battle. Proving a huge boost to morale, the Spitfire played a...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 96 p. Pusher fighters, designed with the engine at the rear and the machine gun at the front, may have looked ungainly, yet they were able to hold their own remarkably well against their German counterparts. This is the story of the unusual pusher and its many aces, including Lanoe Hawker VC, who formed and led Britain's...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 96 p. The Italian aces of World War One have gone down in history as the irrefutable masters of the skies in the battle against their Austro-Hungarian enemies. In this often forgotten theatre of warfare these remarkable pilots gave the Italian forces an undisputed air superiority and left an enduring legacy as extraordinary...
Illustrator: Richard Caruana. — Osprey Publishing, 2009. — 96 p. The Fiat CR.42, a logical development of the Fiat CR.32, was the last single-seat fighter biplane to be produced. It entered service with the Italian Regia Aeronautica in May 1939 before being exported to Belgium, Hungary and Sweden. Its combat debut came when the Belgian air force threw its fleet into action during...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 96 p. Although designed and built for the US Navy, the F2A fought in only one major US engagement, the battle of Midway, in which F2A pilots managed to shoot down a number of Japanese fighters. Soon replaced by the navy, the F2A was exported to Britain, where it was nicknamed the 'Buffalo' thanks to its stubby appearance. The...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 96 p. Renowned aviation author and artist, John Weal, presents the last volume of Fw 190 Aces not previously covered in the Aircraft of the Aces series. From mid-1942 until the end of the war, German fighter pilots were deployed in the defence of the homeland in an effort to halt the near-constant bombing raids by Britain and...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 96 p. The P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt were the finest American fighters of World War 2, and both saw service with the RAF in substantial numbers. The RAF began flying the Mustang in 1944, using it to fly bomber escort missions, and deploying to support the ground campaigns in Italy and the Balkans. It was also flown by a...
Illustrator: Richard Caruana. — Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 96 p. The CR.32 Falco was a handsome and highly manoeuvrable biplane fighter. During General Franco's fight with the Republicans for the control of Spain from 1936 - 39, no fewer than 477 CR.32s were involved, with an astounding 709 confirmed aerial victories, and an additional 320 kills claimed, for just 62 losses. As...
Illustrator: Mark Postlethwaite. — Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 96 p. The I-15, I-16 and I-153 fighters were the world's first mass-produced fighters. Some 17,000 Polikarpovs had been manufactured by the time production ceased in 1941. They served with the Republicans in the Spain, the Chinese against Japan in 1937-38, and the Soviets against both Japan in the Nomonhan Incident and...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2010. — 96 p. The 357th Fighter Group produced 42 aces, more than any other group within the USAAF. It was also the first group in the Eighth Air Force to be equipped with the P-51. Thanks to this fighter and the talented pilots assigned to the group (men such as Bud Anderson, Kit Carson, John England and Chuck Yeager) the 357th...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 96 p. In the first of a two-part study covering all of the naval fighter pilots to achieve ace status during World War I, author and artist Jon Guttman examines the elite members of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The first to employ Sopwith's excellent line of scouts, such as the Pup, Triplane and Camel, some of the...
Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 96 p. Andrew Thomas' Spitfire Aces of North Africa and Italy chronicles the exploits of the Spit pilots who flew and fought over the Desert and Italy in this entertaining 2011 Osprey Publishing release, #98 in their 'Aircraft of the Aces' series.
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 112 p. For Germany, the Spanish Civil War proved a perfect testing ground for new technologies and tactics. During the war, some 19,000 German 'volunteers' formed an aviation group called the Legion Condor in support of the fascists. Originally flying He-51s, they were soon upgraded to 109s. These fighters proved dominant in...
Illustrator: Ronnie Olsthoorn. — Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 96 p. The Ki-44 'Tojo' epitomises JAAF air power in defence of the homeland, but was also used extensively in the skies over China. The introduction of the Ki-44 was noted with concern because of its departure from the performance and tactics previously associated with the JAAF. It was a fast-climbing, heavily armed...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2011. — 96 p. Viermot Aces' were pilots who shot down five or more USAAF and RAF bombers during the daylight Defence of the Reich missions from May 1942 through to VE Day. This book tells the complete story of the men and the planes that challenged the great bomber offensive. Flying a number of different aircraft including the Bf...
Illustrator: Andrey Yurgenson. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. The MiG-1/3 family of fighters was built to satisfy a Soviet Air Force requirement for an advanced, fast, high-altitude fighter. Entering service in the spring of 1941, the problematic MiG-1 had its handling issues rectified with the hasty production of the MiG-3. Many of these were destroyed on the ground when the...
Illustrator: Ronnie Olsthoorn. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. The Ki-27 achieved its first successes during the so-called 'China Incident'. These were the glory days for the JAAF and many of the successful 97 Sen pilots went on to become the outstanding leaders and veteran aces of the Pacific War. Initially facing more modern Allied types of fighter, the 97 Sen was more than...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. This second Naval Aces of World War 1 book looks at the many flying naval heroes who served alongside or against those of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). While the RNAS operated its own formidable arsenal of Nieuport and Sopwith scouts over the Flanders coast, the German Navy countered with its own Land Feld...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. The Blenheim IF flew some of Fighter Command's early offensive operations, and the type soon proved vulnerable when pitted against single-seat fighters. However, for much of 1940 the Blenheim fighter squadrons provided the RAF's main long-range convoy escort and nightfighter capability. In the mid-1930s, in an attempt to...
Illustrator: Julio López Caeiro. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, most young fighter pilot officers joined the rebels, while the high ranking officers, grupo or escuadrilla commanders, and the NCOs, sergeants and corporals remained loyal to the government. Mostly flying the obsolete Nieuport Ni.52s these loyalists were soon outpaced by the...
Illustrator: Aleksander Rusinov. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. Following the destruction wrought on the Red Army Air Forces during the first days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Soviet Union found itself desperately short of fighter aircraft. Premier Josef Stalin duly appealed directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill for replacement aircraft, and in late 1941...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. When the 82nd Fighter Group was organized in March 1942, most of its initial pilot cadre was comprised of newly graduated staff sergeant pilots of Class 42-C - enlisted men! They learned to fly the P-38 at Muroc, in California's Mojave Desert, and then moved to the Los Angeles area to continue their training and to serve...
Illustrator: Mark Styling. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. The Japanese High Command realised that the loss of Okinawa would give the Americans a base for the invasion of Japan. Its desperate response was to unleash the full force of the Special Attack Units, known in the west as the Kamikaze ('Divine Wind'). In a series of mass attacks in between April and June 1945, more than...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2012. — 96 p. — ISBN-10 1849087474, ISBN-13 978-1849087476. Austro-Hungarian industry produced a series of poor fighter types such as the Phönix D I and Hansa-Brandenburg D I during the early stages of the war, and it was not until licence-built examples of the battle-proven Albatros and D II and D III began to reach...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. Although the Russian Imperial Army Air Service consisted of no more than four BAGs (Boevaya Aviatsionniy Gruppa - battle aviation groups), each controlling three or four smaller AOIs (Aviatsionniy Otryad Istrebitelei - fighter aviation detachments) equipped with a variety of aircraft types, its fighter pilots...
Illustrator: Chris Davey, Mark Postlethwaite. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. The Dutch D.XXIs saw less than a week of action following the German invasion of the west on 10 May 1940, with many of the country's 28 fighters being destroyed on the ground. However, those that survived the initial onslaught inflicted losses on the Luftwaffe. By then, however, the D.XXI had found...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. Shortly after the Allied landings in France the Germans unleashed the first of their so-called ‘revenge weapons', the V1 flying bomb. Launched from specially constructed sites in northern France, the fast, small, pulse-jet powered pilotless aircraft were aimed at London with the sole intent of destroying civilian morale...
Illustrator: Ronnie Olsthoorn. — Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 96 p. This is the story of the elite Japanese Army Air force (JAAF) aces that flew the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Swallow), and the Ki-100 Goshikisen in the Pacific Theatre of World War 2. The former, codenamed 'Tony' by the allies, was a technically excellent aircraft, possessing power, stability and a good rate of climb -...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. Dubbed the ‘Eagles of Duxford', the 78th Fighter Group (FG) was unique in being the only fighter unit in the ‘Mighty Eighth' to fly the P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang operationally. Arriving in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) in November 1942, and eventually committed to combat five months...
Illustrator: John Weal. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. Jagdgeschwader 3 may not have the same immediate resonance as some of the more famous Luftwaffe fighter units, such Jagdgeschwader 2 ‘Richthofen', but it is arguably the archetypal German fighter formation of World War 2. Not only did it participate in every campaign fought by the Luftwaffe (with the exceptions of Poland...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2014. — 96 p. The 325th FG was activated under General Order number 50 on 30 July 1942 and set up training operations at Theodore F Greene Field in Providence, Rhode Island. By mid-December 1942 the group was considered ready for combat and the alert for overseas duty arrived on 2 January 1943. The pilots and their P-40s departed on...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2013. — 96 p. Initially formed to assist in the defence of the city of Metz against French bombing raids, Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 17 would go on to become one of the most distinguish German fighter units of World War 1. Its first victory was scored by the pilot whose story is inextricably interwoven with that of his unit - the...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2014. — 96 p. VF-9 was activated in March 1942 as part of Carrier Air Group (CAG) 9, one of the many air groups the US Navy was hurriedly forming in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Equipped with Grumman F4F Wildcats, VF-9 first saw combat during the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, where the...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2014. — 96 p. The first P-38s became operational with the 1st Fighter Group in April 1941, and the initial combat deployments were made in Alaska, the Southwest Pacific and North Africa during the latter part of 1942. Photographic reconnaissance versions of the P-38 were in action even sooner when F-4 (P-38E) models were rushed to...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2014. — 96 p. The MS.406 was an important aircraft not only because it was built in larger numbers than any other French fighter of the period, but also because it was the first modern fighter in the Armée de l'Air inventory. Although comparable to the British Hurricane and early models of the German Bf 109, it was outclassed when...
Illustrator: Chris Thomas. — Osprey Publishing, 2014. — 96 p. This book traces the achievements of the pilots flying the iconic Spitfire in Northwest Europe, and examines how the steady technological improvements that were made throughout the Spitfire's service life improved its capabilities in the air. Based at airfields throughout southern England, Merlin engine Spitfires...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey, Mark Postlethwaite. — Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 96 p. Often overshadowed by the fighters that either protected or threatened them, two-seater reconnaissance aircraft performed the oldest and most strategically vital aerial task of World War 1 - a task that required them to return with the intelligence they gathered at all costs. Bomber sorties were...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2016. — 96 p. Once Nazi Germany had conquered Norway in 1940, just a handful of Gruppen flying the Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters were able to shatter all opposition and dominate the air in the Arctic Circle. Yet as the dual threats of the RAF and the Red Air Force grew, the Luftwaffe was forced to increase its fighter presence to full...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier, Mark Postlethwaite. — Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 96 p. The first VF-2 was a prewar unit that had been dubbed the ‘hottest outfit afloat' due to the skill of their non-commissioned pilots. This first unit only saw combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea, although VF-2 pilots flying Grumman F4F Wildcats were able to rack up 17 claims there during the bitter...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 96 p. The ace pilots of the Republic of China Air Force have long been shrouded in mystery and obscurity, as their retreat to Taiwan in 1949 and blanket martial law made records of the RoCAF all but impossible to access. Now, for the first time, the colourful story of these aces can finally be told. Using the latest research...
Illustrator: Robert Grudzien. — Osprey Publishing, 2015. — 96 p. Of all Allied airmen, Polish pilots had had the most experience of fighting the Luftwaffe by the time the war came to Britain. As the Battle of Britain raged, they quickly proved themselves as highly aggressive and skilful interceptors, especially when flying the famous Spitfire. The Polish Air Force eventually...
Illustrator: Harry Dempsey. — Osprey Publishing, 2016. — 96 p. Royal Prussian Jagdgeschwader Nr III was the third of Germany's vaunted fighter wings to be formed during World War 1. Commanded by the Pour le Mérite winner and well-respected ace Hauptmann Bruno Loerzer for its entire existence, it was composed of the celebrated Jasta 'Boelcke', along with Jagdstaffeln 26, 27 and 36....
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2016. — 96 p. Although seen as a replacement for the A6M Zero-sen carrier-based fighter, the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden was actually designed as a land-based naval interceptor optimised for speed rather than manoeuvrability. Engine cooling problems for its Mitsubishi Kasai 23 engine, airflow and flight control issues plagued the Raiden's...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2016. — 96 p. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) were equipped with slow, old Korean War generation fighters - a combination of MiG-17s and MiG-19s - types that should have offered little opposition to the cutting-edge fighter-bombers such as the F-4 Phantom II, F-105 Thunderchief and the F-8...
Illustrator: Chris Thomas. — Osprey Publishing, 2016. — 96 p. 80 years after the Spitfire was first developed it remains an icon of military aviation. Though many associate its victory during the Battle of Britain as the high point in the history of the Spitfire, the years following were of equal importance. Having weathered the initial storm, at the start of 1941 Fighter Command...
Illustrator: Chris Davey. — Osprey Publishing, 2017. — 96 p. Boasting pilots who had been blooded in the Spanish Civil War, Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) ‘Pik As' or ‘Ace of Spades' achieved great success in the skies over France and Britain in 1940. It was infamous amongst its opponents for the quality and calibre of its aces - men such as Werner Mölders, Hans-Karl Mayer and Rolf...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2019. — 96 p. Initially designed as a fast medium bomber, the Junkers Ju 88 was also used as a Zerstörer heavy fighter by the Luftwaffe. It saw its combat debut over Poland in 1939, and heavy fighter variants saw action on every front up to VE Day. The ultimate Ju 88 fighter variant was the G-model of 1944, which boasted a FuG 220 or...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2017. — 96 p. Formed shortly after the outbreak of World War 2, and equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109Es, Jagdgeschwader 1 was initially tasked to defend the regional North Sea and Baltic coastal areas and Germany's main port cities and naval bases. The greatest task for JG 1 though came after 1942 in its defence of the Reich against...
Illustrator: Jim Laurier. — Osprey Publishing, 2017. — 96 p. Having learned their trade on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the US Air Force, US Navy...
Illustrator: Laurier Jim — Osprey Publishing, 2017. — 96 p. Allied fighter pilots began encountering German jets - principally the outstanding Me 262 fighter - from the autumn of 1944. Stunned by the aircraft's speed and rate of climb, it took USAAF and RAF units time to work out how to combat this deadly threat as the Luftwaffe targeted the medium and heavy bombers attacking...
Illustrator: Ronnie Olsthoorn. — Osprey Publishing, 2019. — 96 p. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen was Japan's Spitfire. In continuous development and operational service from the time of the Sino-Japanese war in 1940 to the end of the Pacific War in 1945, it is held in almost mythical awe, similar to Britain's legendary fighter aircraft. At the time of its operational debut the...
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